Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to fixing members included in fixing apparatuses for electrophotographic image forming apparatuses, and image forming apparatuses.
Description of the Related Art
Electrophotographic image forming apparatuses (hereinafter, simply referred to as “image forming apparatuses”) such as printers, copiers and fax machines include fixing apparatuses provided with fixing members in the form of a film or a roller. It is known that some of these fixing members have a configuration including a substrate made of a heat-resistant resin or a metal in the form of a film or a roller, an elastic layer containing a heat-resistant rubber formed on the substrate, and a surface layer containing a fluorine resin (hereinafter, referred to as “fluorine resin layer” in some cases) having high releasing properties from toners and formed on the elastic layer.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos. H10-142990, 2009-15137 and 2011-175218 disclose fixing members including surface layers disposed thereon, the surface layers being fluorine resin layers formed through firing of a coating of a dispersion solution of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) and a different fluorine resin having higher releasing properties than that of the PTFE, such as a tetrafluoroethylene-perfluoroalkyl vinyl ether copolymer (PFA) and a tetrafluoroethylene-hexafluoropropylene copolymer (FEP).
One aspect of the present invention is directed to providing a fixing member having high resistance to wear and a method of producing the fixing member. Another aspect of the present invention is directed to providing a fixing apparatus and an image forming apparatus which can stably provide high-quality images.